Britons ‘make history with 50-day record Pacific crossing in rowing boat’

They’ve endured being pelted in the face with fish, battled 6m (20ft) waves and had blisters so painful they needed painkillers just to sit down.

But four Britons believe they have made history by becoming the youngest crew to row a stretch of the Pacific.

Team Noman, all aged 24, set off from California last month on their voyage from California to Hawaii.

Jack Carter, from Blackheath, Nick Kempster, from Bath, Chris Blacketer, from Ewell, and Mark Gleeson from Orpington took it in turns to row 3,100km (1,920 miles) on their cramped 7.3m-long (24ft) boat Isabel.

They finally arrived on Monday after 50 nights at sea, raising more than £40,000 for the HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation in the process.

Mr Gleeson said: ‘After nearly eight weeks in a world less than 24ft in length, Hawaii seems impossibly large.

‘We’re in a lot of pain, and have been for a few weeks now. We are barely able to sit, let alone stand, but everyone is so proud of one another.’ Mr Blacketer added: ‘Each day our hands got a little more blistered and our stomachs decreased in size, which was definitely a good thing looking at some of the pre- departure photos.

‘But the worst aspect by far was the pain in our backsides.

‘Spending pretty much 24 hours a day either sitting or lying on them, meant we were all on a constant stream of painkillers just to get through the days and be able to sit down as we were just so blistered and raw.’

The group hoped to complete the challenge, part of the Great Pacific Race competition, in less than 40 days.

However they failed to hit their target due to unexpected bad weather.

Nick added: ‘At times it felt like we might not be able to complete it.’

The record attempt is being checked by the Guinness Book of World Records.